Leeds United and Leicester City played out to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night at Elland Road. Both teams entered the midweek matchup dangerously close to the drop zone. Leeds were sitting 16th, just one point ahead of Leicester. A win by either team would have helped create some distance near the bottom of the Premier League standings.
The visitors received a bit of a boost prior to kickoff as two key players returned to the team. Harvey Barnes and James Maddison were both named in Dean Smith’s starting XI on the night. Barnes missed the last two top-flight games because of a hamstring injury. Maddison, on the other hand, previously suffered from an illness. The dynamic duo are the club’s top two scorers during the current campaign.
Leicester thought they went ahead after just six minutes on Tuesday thanks to a tremendous strike by Youri Tielemans. After a bit of chaos near the Leeds goal, the midfielder hit a rocket of a shot from just outside of the box. However, Boubakary Soumare, the player that played the pass to Tielemans, was offside in the build-up.
Hosts go ahead with Sinisterra header
Instead, Leeds would go in front in the 20th minute. Jack Harrison beat Leicester defender Victor Kristiansen and delivered a quality cross toward the back post. Luis Sinisterra rushed in from the left flank and headed the ball down and into the back of the net. It was the team’s first attempted shot of the game.
Both teams seemed to settle down after the goal. Neither side even recorded a shot on target in the 50 minutes following the Leeds strike. In fact, Leicester did not have a shot on target until the 73rd minute of the match. Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier made two good saves from Kelechi Iheanacho shots in the 73rd and 74th minutes.
Vardy helps grab vital draw for Leicester at Leeds
The visitors would, however, level the scoreline in the 80th minute from substitute Jamie Vardy. Iheanacho, although injuring himself in the process, played in Maddison rushing toward goal. The midfielder then squared the ball to Vardy inside the box and the club legend wouldn’t miss from there. Iheanacho would be substituted following the goal because of the leg injury
Leeds striker Patrick Bamford essentially missed a sitter in the 90th minute to win the match. He may have ultimately been offside, but the center forward put his shot wide from about a yard away from goal. The opportunity came after the Whites took a corner kick and Leicester City keeper Daniel Iversen was nowhere to be found.
The draw doesn’t necessarily hurt or help either side very much. Both teams finished the night as they started in the table. Leeds are now two points away from the relegation zone and Leicester are just one. All three teams currently in the drop zone have an extra game in hand though.
PHOTO: IMAGO / PA Images
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Courtesy : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/leeds-leicester-draw-opens-door-at-bottom-of-epl-table-20230425-WST-430107.html